Medicine and Surgery "B" - Roma Azienda Policlinico Umberto I

HUMAN PHYSIOLOGY Single channel

Chair (Coordinator) and Rapporteur: DAVIDE ANTONIO RAGOZZINO

Module 1: HUMAN PHYSIOLOGY I

Activity type: B_04. Funzioni biologiche, Tirocini formativi e di orientamento
SSD: BIO/09, BIO/09
Year: 2nd year
Semester: 1st semester
CFU: 8
Hours distribution: 87.5 classroom hours, 25 others hours
Lecturers: DAVIDE ANTONIO RAGOZZINO
FILIPPO CARDUCCI

Module 2: HUMAN PHYSIOLOGY I - fluid dynamics

Activity type: B_04. Funzioni biologiche
SSD: BIO/09
Year: 2nd year
Semester: 2nd semester
CFU: 7
Hours distribution: 87.5 classroom hours
Lecturers: DAVIDE ANTONIO RAGOZZINO
FILIPPO CARDUCCI

Module 3: HUMAN PHYSIOLOGY II

Activity type: C_21. Tecnologie di informazione e comunicazione e discipline tecnico- scientifiche di supporto alla medicina
SSD: ING-IND/06
Year: 2nd year
Semester: 1st semester
CFU: 1
Hours distribution: 12.5 classroom hours
Lecturers: ALBERTO GIACOMELLO

Objectives

The student will have acquired skills in:
Cellular Physiology
Introduction to physiological systems; functional compartments of the body
Concept of homeostasis and physiological mechanism of control
Cellular communications: introduction to nervous system and endocrine system.
Movement of molecules across cell membranes: diffusion; osmosis and tonicity; mediated transport
systems; vesicular transports; intracellular membrane signal transduction
Electrical parameters of the cell membrane - ion movement: ion pumps and ion channels; gap
junction; membrane potential: resting potential, graded potential action potentials
Functional anatomy of synapses and synaptic transmission; neurotransmitter and mechanism of
neurotransmitter release; neurotransmitter receptors; neurotransmitter transporters
Synaptic transmission at the neuromuscular junction and in the central nervous system
Toxins and drugs affecting synaptic transmission

Muscular system
Structure of skeletal, cardiac and smooth muscle; organization of contractile elements; excitation-
contraction coupling; molecular mechanisms of contraction and energetics

Cardiac system
General properties of the myocardium; cardiac action potentials; control of excitation and
conduction in the heart; regulation of heart rate; electrocardiography; mechanical events of the
cardiac cycle; regulation of cardiac output.

Circulatory system
Organization of systemic and pulmonary circulation; vascular hemodynamic; vessels function and
humoral and nervous control of blood circulation; blood pressure control; special circulatory
districts: coronary, pulmonary, hepatic, cerebral and cutaneous.

Blood
Functions of blood cells and plasma proteins; human blood groups; haemostasis.
Composition and function of the lymphatic system.

Respiratory system
Organization of the respiratory system; the airways and blood vessels, air-blood barrier;
atmospheric and alveolar air composition; ventilation and lung mechanics; measure of lung function
(spirometry); exchange of gases in alveoli and transport of gases in blood; role of the respiratory
system in acid-base balance; control of respiration.
Renal system
Basic renal components and processes; glomerular filtration; tubular reabsorption, tubular secretion;
mechanisms of control of the renal processes; urine concentration, micturition;
The concept of renal clearance
Adjustment of acid-base balance and salt-water balance; Renin-Angiotensin System

Digestive system
Overview of food and nutrition; energy requirements, basal metabolism; nutrigenomic and
nutrigenetic
Structure of the gastrointestinal digestive tract wall; organization of the enteric nervous system
General functions of the digestive system: motility; exocrine secretion; digestion; absorption;
neurohumoral regulation of these processes
Organization and general functions of the various digestive system regions: mouth (chewing,
salivation, bolus formation; initiation of fat and carbohydrate digestion); stomach (production of
gastric juice, initiation of protein digestion, propulsion movements and release of material to the
intestine; regulation of acid secretion and phases of acid secretion); liver (formation of bile);
pancreas (formation of gastric juice rich in enzymes and bicarbonate); Small intestine (digestion
and absorption); Large intestine (stool formation and composition, role of the microbiota, and
defecation reflex)
Neurohumoral regulation of the digestive processes and of the eating behavior

Endocrine system
Structure, synthesis, transport and mechanism of action of hormones.
Hypothalamic-hypophysis axis hormones; thyroid hormones; hormones of the cortex and adrenal
medulla; regulation of calcium homeostasis: parathormone, calcitonin and vitamin D3; pancreatic
hormones and blood glucose level regulation; hormones of the reproductive system: male and
female gonads hormones, pregnancy, lactation.

Nervous system
Components and general organization of the nervous system
Introduction to central nervous system (CNS) functional levels: upper or cortical brain level; lower
or subcortical brain level; spinal level
Central nervous system cells: neurons and glial cells
Neuronal synapses and plasticity of central synapses
Neuronal microenvironment: cerebrospinal fluid, blood-brain barrier
Energy metabolism of the brain.
Methods for the study of the nervous system in humans: brain imaging techniques (EEG, functional
and structural magnetic resonance imaging)
Functional organization of the cerebral cortex; afferents to the cortex; efferents from the cortex;
associative areas; sensory and motor maps
General organization of motor systems: muscles, motor units; sensory receptors in the muscle.
neuromuscular spindles and Golgi tendon organs.
The spinal cord in movement control: spinal reflexes (flexor reflex, stretch reflex, tendon reflex)
Role of the cerebral cortex in motor control: Primary motor cortex, Premotor area, Supplementary
motor area; Transmission of signals from the motor cortex to the muscles; Sensory pathways
afferent to the motor cortex
Basal nuclei and motor control: Neuronal circuits of the basal nuclei; Functions of the base nuclei
in the execution of complex movement patterns; Role of basal nuclei in the cognitive control of
motor sequences. caudate circuit; Role of the base nuclei in the modulation of the timing and
intensity of movements; Clinical syndromes due to lesion of the basal nuclei
The cerebellum in movement control: Anatomical-functional organization of the cerebellum;
Neuronal circuits of the cerebellum; Afferent pathways to the cerebellum; Efferent signals from the
cerebellum; functional unit of the cerebellar cortex; Function of the cerebellum in overall motor
control; alterations in cerebellar function
Posture and balance control. Postural tone. Control of head orientation, body orientation and
balance maintenance.
Posture and locomotion reflexes Postural and locomotor reflexes of the spinal cord
Gait and gait movements (Rhythmic gait movements in a single limb - Reciprocal gait movements
of the opposite limbs - Diagonal gait movements of all four limbs.
Eye movements: saccadic movements, vergence movements, slow tracking movements. Vestibulo-
ocular reflex, optokinetic reflex, nystagmus

Sensory system
General organization of sensory systems: classification of sensory systems; classification of sensory
receptors; receptor translation; coding (modality, intensity, duration and adaptation); localization;
peripheral innervation density; sensory acuity; sensory threshold
The somatosensory system: organization of the somatosensory cortex; peripheral receptors
(mechanoreceptors, thermoreceptors, proprioceptors); somatosensory pathways for the transmission
of somatic information to the central nervous system;
Pain: nociceptive pathways; peripheral and central nervous mechanisms of pain; analgesia
Spatial organization of signals from different parts of the body in the somatosensory cortex; Layers
of the somatosensory cortex and their function
Visual system: retinal organization; visual stimuli, eye movements and accommodation,
photoreceptor organization and visual signal transduction; visual field; visual pathway topography;
primary visual cortex, visual associative cortex; visual agnosia
Auditory system: anatomy of the outer and inner ear; cochlea and auditory receptor organ; auditory
signal transduction; coding of sound characteristics; central acoustic pathways; auditory areas of the
cerebral cortex. The perception and localization of sounds.
Vestibular system: functional organization of semicircular canals, utricle, saccule; mechanisms of
transduction into nerve signal
Gustatory system: organization of gustatory chemoreceptors and translation of taste
Olfactory system: olfactory chemoreceptor organization and olfactory transduction
Integrative functions: Hypothalamus and limbic system
Hypothalamic nuclei; control of endocrine and vegetative functions (hypothalamic control of
hormonal secretion of the anterior pituitary gland, cardiovascular regulation, regulation of body
temperature, regulation of the body; water balance, regulation of uterine contractility and milk
emission from the mammary gland, gastrointestinal and nutritional regulation). Hypothalamic
control of circadian rhythms: the suprachiasmatic nucleus
Behavioural functions of the hypothalamus and structures of the limbic system
Overview of complex brain functions: language; sleep and wakefulness, emotions; learning and
memory

General functional characteristics of the autonomic nervous system (ANS)
Preganglionic and postganglionic neurons of the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous system;
Neurotransmitters and mechanisms of secretion and removal of transmitters at the level of the
postganglionic endings;
Receptors in effector organs: cholinergic receptors and adrenergic receptors: α and β receptors;
Effects of sympathetic and parasympathetic stimulation on specific organs;
Sympathetic and parasympathetic tone; autonomous reflexes;
Pharmacological actions on the ANS;
Superior control mechanisms (nucleus, solitary tract and hypothalamus)
Physiology of sensory systems: Vision, hearing, balance, smell, taste and somatosensory perception.